Tuesday, September 21, 1999
Suspect faces charges related to woman's death
Detective work credited in case
BY JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — Thanks to the dogged work of a veteran detective — and the suspect's unusual physical characteristics — a man faces charges in connection with the death of a woman found in an Oxford Township shed last month.
Bond was set at $500,000 in Hamilton Municipal Court on Monday for Dustin Hendrix, 29, of the 1200 block of Lane Street. Mr. Hendrix is charged with abuse of a corpse, kidnapping, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in the death of Patricia Ann Barrett, a 27-year-old mother of five.
Her death has been ruled an accident, caused by an overdose of alcohol and cocaine. Mr. Hendrix is charged with crimes that allegedly preceded and followed Ms. Barrett's death.
A suspect probably would never have been identified if it weren't for countless unpaid hours that Detective Frank Smith devoted to the case, Lt. Blankenship said.
“I truly believe it was his persistence in this case that solved it,” the lieutenant said.
Soon after Ms. Barrett's body was found Aug. 15, investigators learned that Ms. Barrett had been socializing with several people at a Hamilton tavern — one of whom witnesses didn't know by name but described as being a big man, about 6 feet, 6 inches and 230 pounds.
“We put his height and weight into a computer and came up with a name,” Lt. Blankenship said.
After detectives tracked down Mr. Hendrix, “his story had enough inconsistencies to where (Detective Smith) refused to rule him out as a suspect,” Lt. Blankenship said. Detective Smith reinterviewed numerous witnesses, and during a subsequent interview Saturday with Detective Smith, Mr. Hendrix admitted to a series of acts involving Ms. Barrett, Lt. Blankenship said.
Lt. Blankenship said the suspect gave this account: After leaving a Hamilton tavern, Mr. Hendrix later saw Ms. Barrett on East Avenue and persuaded her to get into his car. He then became angry with her, restrained her and hit her. She became sick to her stomach and leaned out of the car to vomit, and when Mr. Hendrix pulled her back into the car, she was dead.
He panicked and did not know what to do with her body until he noticed the shed on an abandoned property along Todd Road.
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